Addis Ababa, June 2, 2021 (Walta) – A chemical-laden cargo ship is sinking off the coast of Sri Lanka amid fears of a major environmental disaster.
The Singapore-registered X-Press Pearl has been on fire for almost two weeks.
Some hundreds of tonnes of engine oil could leak into the sea if the ship sinks, with a devastating impact on marine life.
The Sri Lankan and Indian navies had worked jointly over the past days in an attempt to put out the fire and prevent the ship from breaking up and sinking.
But rough seas and monsoonal winds hampered the operation.
“The ship is sinking. Salvers are trying to tow the ship to deep-sea before it sinks to minimize the marine pollution but the rear area of the ship has drifted,” Sri Lanka Navy spokesman Captain Indika Silva told the BBC.
The coastal stretch near the city of Negombo – home to some of the country’s most pristine beaches – has already seen oil and debris pollution for days.
Meanwhile, the State Minister of Fisheries has suspended ships from entering from the Negombo Lagoon and fishing from Panadura to Negombo with immediate effect since the salvage company said the ship was sinking at the current position.
He also said that emergency preventing measures have been taken to protect the lagoon and surrounding areas to contain the damage from any debris or in case of an oil leak.